The number of gun deaths in Chicago in 2016 has already topped last year

REUTERS/Jim Young

Nortasha Stingiey (2nd L) hold hands in a group prayer during a news conference by "Purpose over Pain", a group of mothers who lost children to gun violence, calling for a stop to shootings in Chicago, Illinois, United States, May 6, 2016.

The number of gun deaths in Chicago this year has already surpassed the total for 2015, and it's only September.

By Wednesday, 425 people had been shot and killed in Chicago this year. In 2015, 424 people were killed by guns throught the whole year, reports The Wall Street Journal, citing Chicago police department statistics.

Ninety people were killed in Chicago in August alone, making it one of the deadliest months for the city in the past 20 years, The New York Times reports.

Although Chicago's struggle with violence is a well known one, the city was thrust into the national spotlight again after Nykea Aldridge, NBA star Dwayne Wade's cousin and a mother of four, was shot and killed by two men while she was walking her children to register for school on Sunday. The men were allegedly aiming for someone else but shot Aldridge in the head and arm.

So far, gun deaths in Chicago account for 91% of total murders, according to the Wall Street Journal. If these trends continue, gun deaths in Chicago will reach highs not seen since the early 2000s.